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Boise State flattens UH in softball doubleheader

Jason Kaneshiro

Boise State continued a successful farewell tour around the Western Athletic Conference by extending Hawaii’s frustration yesterday.

Before heading to the Mountain West Conference next season, the Broncos clinched their first series win over UH with a 7-4 victory in the opening game of yesterday’s doubleheader on Power in Pink day at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.

The Broncos then rallied from a two-run deficit to complete the series sweep with a 3-2 win in the finale.

UH lost its second WAC series of the season and was swept at home for the first time since losing three to Fresno State in 2005.

"We knew coming in it was going to be a tough series. We knew what we had to do and we just didn’t come through with our hitting," sophomore shortstop Jessica Iwata said.

The Wahine (30-16, 8-7 WAC) remained in fourth place in the league standings heading into a series with front-runner New Mexico State this week to close the home schedule. Boise State (29-15, 12-3), which went 17-24 in its first two years of WAC membership and was 0-7 against UH entering the week, stayed in contention for the regular-season title and matched last year’s win total with the sweep.

"I think we’re pretty pumped," Boise State head coach Erin Thorpe said. "We had our sights set on what we needed to do with dropping a few games this season. … We really needed to come in and be focused."

In the first game, Boise State maintained the momentum off of Friday’s 2-1 win by jumping out to a 6-0 lead. Hawaii left 12 runners on base as the Broncos thwarted a late-inning comeback.

Shaky Hawaii defense contributed to Boise State taking a 2-0 lead in the second inning and Devon Bridges chased UH starter Kaia Parnaby with a two-run homer in the third. In the fifth, Christina Capobianco’s second two-run homer of the series stretched the Broncos’ lead to 6-0.

"(The early lead) was big, especially with the pitching matchup we wanted to be able to go out there and attack early," Thorpe said.

The Wahine again struggled to cash in with runners on base before Kelly Majam led off the bottom of the fifth with her seventh home run of the season. Makani Duhaylonsod-Kaleimamahu’s first hit of her junior season scored Jocelyn Enrique later in the inning.

UH chipped away with two more runs in the sixth, closing to 6-4 on Iwata’s RBI single off the leg of Boise State reliever Lela Work. The Broncos added a run in the seventh on a bases-loaded walk and Work stranded two more runners on base in the bottom of the inning to preserve the win for BSU starter Allie Crump.

In the second game, Duhaylonsod-Kaleimamahu gave UH its first lead of the series with a two-run single in the bottom of the second.

The Broncos tied the game with two runs in the fourth and took the lead on Crump’s two-out RBI single in the fifth off of Parnaby, who relieved starter Stephanie Ricketts in the fourth inning.

In the bottom of the seventh, Melissa Gonzalez led off with a single to center. But BSU pitcher Aubray Zell got a strikeout, popup and a groundout to earn her second complete-game win of the series.

 

BOISE STATE 7, HAWAII 4

At Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium

BSU (28-15, 11-3) 022 020 1 7 11 0
UH (30-15, 8-6) 000 022 0 4 8 3

Allie Crump, Lela Work (6) and Megan Harvey. Kaia Parnaby, Jenna Rodriguez (3) and Sharla Kliebenstein, Jocelyn Enrique (4). W–Crump. L–Parnaby. S–Work.
Leading hitters–Boise State: Kellie Caplan 2-4, RBI; Devon Bridges, 2-4, HR, 2 RBIs; Christina Capobianco HR, 2 RBIs; Kelly Sweeney 2-4, RBI; Tazz Weatherly, 2-3, 2b, RBI. Hawaii: Kelly Majam, HR; Jessica Iwata 2-3, RBI; Rodriguez 2-3.
Boise State 3, Hawaii 2

BSU (29-15, 12-3) 000 210 0 3 6 4
UH (30-16, 8-7) 020 000 0 2 4 2

Aubray Zell and Megan Harvey. Stephanie Ricketts, Kaia Parnaby (4) and Sharla Kliebenstein, Jocelyn Enrique (7). W–Zell. L–Parnaby.
Leading hitters–Boise State: Allie Crump 2-4, RBI; Kelly Sweeney 2b, RBI. Hawaii: Makani Duhaylonsod-Kaleimamahu 2 RBIs.

 

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